Anonymous on the case of lesbian girl charged with statutory rape.

[Ms. Toad]

54. Colorado and Utah are both 10

One dependent on age, the other not. Of the statutes with a general age of consent of 16 or older, 21 include circumstances under which someone as young as 10 can give consent based (most often) on the situation being teen romances.

And, as a general matter, being sexually active below the age of consent does not necessarily mean that the older participant is guilty of statutory rape; more typically either or both participants would be adjudicated delinquent by reason of underage sexual intercourse (there may be slightly different language). (Although the older, depending on the state statutes, constitute contributing to the delinquency of a minor.)

http://aspe.hhs.gov/hsp/08/sr/statelaws/summary.shtml
(I have not verified how up to date this listing is)

The bottom line is - do you really think it is appropriate to classify all teenage sexual activity between peers as rape, and impose sexual offender labels and criminal penalties on one participant without taking into consideration the circumstances?

I'm a prude - and I really don't believe high school kids are ready for sex, regardless of the reality that many of them are sexually active. But there is a vast difference between kids in the same peer group consensually engaging in behavior I don't think they are ready for & criminal activity.